How to combine discounts on Shopify

Updated November 2, 2026 · SMART Bundles App & Upsells (E-TRADE PARTNER)

Two discounts combine on Shopify only when each one allows the other's class (product, order or shipping) in its combination settings. Up to 25 automatic discounts can be active, app discounts included, and outside Shopify Plus an item gets only one product discount: when two compete for the same item, Shopify applies the better one. SMART Bundles discounts combine with all three classes by default (a Shipping discount with product and order discounts), and you change that in each discount's Combines with card.

The rule: both discounts must allow it

Every Shopify discount has a class, and every discount has its own combination setting. Shopify applies two discounts to the same order only when the setting on each of them allows the other one. If only one side allows it, they don't combine (Combining discounts).

Which combinations Shopify allows

Source: Shopify's Combining discounts page. If you meet the eligibility rules and still can't pick a combination, Shopify says to contact Shopify Support.

How many discounts can apply to one order

• Automatic discounts: at most 25 can be active at once, and the 25 include discounts created by apps. So up to 25 automatic discounts can apply to the same order (Automatic discounts, Combining discounts).
• Discount codes: a customer can use up to 5 product or order codes and 1 shipping code on the same order (Combining discounts).
• Sales channels: combinations work only on orders from the Online Store, the Storefront API and Shopify POS. External checkouts such as Facebook, Instagram or Google don't combine discounts.
• Manual discounts: a custom discount you add by hand, for example on a POS cart, always applies, whatever the combination settings say.

When two product discounts hit the same item

Outside Shopify Plus, one item gets one product discount. If two product discounts both apply to the same line, Shopify keeps the better one for the customer, even when both are set to combine with product discounts. They can still apply side by side to different items in the same cart. On Plus, two product discounts can share a line when each one lists the other's discount tag (Combining discounts).

A product discount and an order discount can both land on the same item when they combine. Shopify's example: an automatic 10% off the order plus a $5 off product code.

The order Shopify calculates in

1. Product discounts apply first, to individual items.
2. Order discounts apply to the subtotal left after product discounts.
3. Shipping discounts apply last.

Two percentage order discounts are both calculated on the original subtotal: 10% and 20% on a $100 subtotal gives $70, not $72.

Buy X get Y items

Outside Plus, items in a Buy X get Y discount can't receive another product discount. If a code also targets them, Shopify applies the best overall discount.

Discounts with more than one class

An app can create one discount that saves on several classes, such as product and shipping. Shopify lets it combine only with discounts that allow all of its classes (Creating discounts with apps).

In Shopify POS

Combinations follow the same rules and calculation order in POS, but only at locations on a POS Pro subscription, and the discounts must be set as combinable in the admin first (Discount combinations on POS).

When a code is rejected

"Discount couldn't be used with your existing discounts" shows when a customer enters codes that can't be combined. Shopify's checks for it: both discounts allow the other's class, no active automatic discount conflicts with the code, and no checkout or discount app is getting in the way. When an automatic discount doesn't apply next to a code, also check that the cart meets both discounts' requirements and that the store is under the 25 automatic and 5 + 1 code limits (Combining discounts). The full list is in Shopify discount not applying: a checklist.

How SMART Bundles discounts combine

Every discount SMART Bundles creates is a Shopify discount, so all the rules above apply to it. In Shopify admin the app shows as SMART Discounts, and its discounts are edited in the app.

• Each bundle is one automatic discount, however many offers it has, so it uses one of Shopify's 25 slots. So does each automatic Free gift and each automatic discount of the other types. When the limit is reached, the app shows "Only 25 automatic discounts can be active at once."
• Ticking "Shipping discounts" doesn't create free shipping. It only lets a separate shipping discount apply as well.
• A Free gift and a bundle can both apply. The gift is its own cart line, so the two product discounts sit on different items.
• Two bundles on the same product: the product page shows one of them, and on any one item only the better product discount applies at checkout.
• No priority setting. Neither Shopify nor the app lets you rank discounts. To make one discount win on certain products, exclude those products from the other one. A bundle that targets Collections or All products has Exclude products for that.
• Shopify Plus tags: the app has no setting for Shopify's discount tags, so a SMART discount can't be set to share a line with another product discount.

Change what a SMART discount combines with

1. In Shopify admin, open Apps > SMART Discounts and open the discount from the table on Home.
2. For a bundle, go to the Settings tab and find Combines with. For a Free gift, use the Combinations card. For the other types, use the Combines with card.
3. Tick Product discounts, Order discounts and Shipping discounts as needed, then save.
4. Open the other discount (in Shopify admin > Discounts, or in the app that made it) and allow the SMART discount's class there too.
5. Test with a real cart: add the items, apply any code, and check the cart and checkout totals.

Common setups

App-specific steps and examples: Combine SMART discounts with other discounts. The cart-only discount types are on Cart discounts.

Frequently asked questions